Landowners may appeal power dispute

At issue are lines crossing ranches in South Texas

AUSTIN - Nineteen landowners in Goliad and Karnes counties are
considering appealing a private property rights case to the U.S.
Supreme Court, an attorney for the landowners said Monday.

The most recent court action in the case of the landowners, who were
told to allow 345,000-volt power lines to run across their properties,
came in September when the Texas Supreme Court declined to grant their
petition to review the case.

Since the Texas Supreme Court ruling, the only remaining option for
the landowners is the highest court in the country, said Cathy Webking,
an attorney for the landowners, who said she has been fighting for the
landowners' due process.

"There is a possibility that we will appeal to the U.S. Supreme
Court," Webking said. "It's a real possibly. We're looking into it
right now."

A decision on how to proceed will be made in the coming weeks,
Webking said. But even if Webking pursues the case further, the Supreme
Court is not obligated to hear it.

Andy Heines, a spokesman for American Electric Power, said his
company, which has managed the lines, would continue to handle the case
if it were sent to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"It has always been our contention that these transmission lines are
needed for the public good," Heines said.

The case began in the late 1990s when several landowners disputed
rulings about the necessity of the power lines and the need to run them
across private property. A district court ruled against them. Later, an
appeals court in Travis County also ruled against them, allowing the
now-active, 52-mile transmission line to remain operational. The lines
- and the accompanying towers that can be as tall as 170 feet - now cut
through nearly 100 South Texas farms and ranches.

But that is just one part of the legal fight surrounding the power
lines.

Some of the landowners also are involved in other pending litigation
focusing on the condemnation process, said plaintiffs' lawyer Dan
Foster.

Foster said the Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Services
Corp., which purchased the lines from American Electric Power, has been
trying to recoup some of the money paid to landowners.

Meanwhile, some of the landowners think they deserve more money from
the Lower Colorado River Authority because farmers and ranchers don't
want "a power line shoved through their ranch," Foster said. He added
that the surrounding land is worth less because of the power lines and
towers.

James Rader, a Lower Colorado River Authority attorney, said
disputes about the property values of land near the towers often are
contested. So far, some of the cases have been settled, Rader said, and
others are in various stages of litigation.

Lower Colorado River Authority pokesman Bill McCann added that the
group is working to try to resolve the cases "as quickly as
possible."